Hello my friends, happy Thursday! I’m beyond excited to share our kitchen refresh with you today in partnership with True Value– can you even believe what a difference new paint job, cabinet hardware and a few other small alterations made to our space?! You may remember from our empty home tour that the kitchen is the room in the house I’m least in love with, which is a big deal for me since I love to cook! The room was dark and felt tiny and cramped in spite of it’s decent size. We’re planning on knocking down the wall that separates it from the dining room and opening it up to the strange little room beside it someday down the road. That project will be a full-on renovation where we completely reconfigure the space- and something we’ll be saving our pennies for!!! In the meantime I was desperate for a way to make it a little more our style- and wasn’t afraid of a little bit (or a lot as it turned out) of labor to get it there! Below I’m sharing all the steps we took to transform our worn and dated cabinets into a more modern incarnation of themselves- and the other changes we made to update the space. I’ll share the other side of the kitchen and the updates we made there soon! I hope this inspires your own DIY adventures!!! xx- Sarah
{More after the jump}
This was our first time tackling a kitchen, so we brought in the help of a friend who gave us some tips and help along the way. We would’ve been overwhelmed without the help but if you follow the instructions below you’ll see it’s really a step by step process that is more time consuming than it is difficult! My biggest tips: take your time, have patience, be meticulous in your prep work and ENJOY THE PROCESS!!!!
Step One: Empty all cabinets, remove all items from the kitchen. Use white tape and a sharpie to label each drawer and cabinet with a number, and place tape with corresponding number on the counters or inside the drawers where they belong to make re-installing them easier! This step saves a lot of trouble and potential headaches when the time comes to install your freshly painted cabinet doors! Remove all cabinet knobs and set aside. Remove all electrical outlet covers, light covers and any other items that might prohibit painting!
Step Two: Use a power drill to unscrew the cabinet mounting hardware from the doors, leaving the hardware attached to the interior of the cabinets and wiggling the mounting hardware out of the doors. Remove all drawers. Place all loose screws into a container or plastic bag and store somewhere safe. Set drawers and cabinets aside.
Step Three: Use 100 grit sandpaper to sand all of the surfaces in need of paint in the kitchen. Rub paper over surfaces in a circular motion, removing all shine and creating a rough surface for paint to stick to. Wear a mask to avoid inhaling dust! This process is time consuming but important!
Step Four: Repeat the above steps with all cabinet drawers and doors. Once every bit of the kitchen you’ll be painting is sanded, thoroughly wipe down everything with a damp cloth, removing all dust and debris.
Step Five: Once your entire workspace is clear of dust, use painters tape and drop cloths to cover any areas that you will not be painting. Pour some paint into a tray and use a 1-2″ angled paint brush to cut in the edges of the room, painting roughly 2-3″ away from the edges. Paint any spaces that are too small for a roller with the small brush.
Step Six: Use a roller to apply paint to any walls that remain to be painted, as well as the ceiling (multiple coats may be needed depending on the color you are painting and the original color)
Step Seven: Place cabinet doors on cardboard boxes on drop-cloth covered tabled (see below for photo example). Remove stickers and place on table while you paint (don’t forget to put them back on the doors once painted!) If your cabinet doors are Shaker style as ours are, cut in the inside edges about 2″. Use a 6″ foam roller to apply paint to the doors (ours took almost three coats- so we edge painted three times and then applied paint with the roller three times!). When one side is completed and dry, flip and complete the other side. Set dry, fully painted doors aside. Use a roller to paint drawer fronts and sides (paint interior back of drawer as well if you’d like!)
Step Eight: Upon completion of the doors, drawers and kitchen painting, reinstall cabinets and drawers, making sure that the drawers align by adjusting the mounting hardware. Replace cabinet hardware (we replaced the original hardware with these but True Value also has tons of options!). Replace outlet covers, light covers and any other miscellaneous items.
Step Nine: DECORATE AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR!!!!
Oh my gosh it’s a brand new kitchen! I love the white cabinets- that’s a must for me!
C’s Collection
http://chelseascollection.com
Thank you Chelsea!!! 🙂
Look’s amazing! I would LOVE to know where you got those kitchen knobs. Getting ready to paint my kitchen and those are the perfect little touch! 😉
Thanks Melody! There is a link to the knobs in the instructions! They’re from Anthropologie. 🙂
I would love to know where that gold silverware is from
Lauren the gold flatware is from a company called Cambridge- unfortunately last I checked they stopped selling it…
Can you share where you got the gold hardware? Thanks!
The gold hardware is linked in the post instructions! 🙂 It’s from Anthropologie!
Where is that fab black/white rug from?
I found it on Ebay! Here‘s a link 🙂
Hi. Can you tell what type of paint you used? Interior paint in eggshell?
Yes! We used a semi-gloss paint with primer! For kitchens that’s the best- makes them easy to wipe down and maintain! 🙂
Love it! Totally more your style! I am also super jealous – I did the same thing to our kitchen a few years ago. The sanding, the removing the cabinet doors, everything and painted it all white. The problem is my boyfriend’s mom (who was trying to be helpful) offered to buy the paint and she bought us OIL paint! Apparently white oil paint yellows when exposed to light. So now we have an uneven creamy yellow kitchen, instead of the all white kitchen I had dreamed of, and had worked so hard to create. Warning to everyone out there: never use oil paint, especially white!
Love it! It’s amazing what paint and hardware can do :)…. I have a source question also if you don’t mind. Where are the oil/vinager bottles from?
Thanks 🙂
I don’t want You to think that I am just spamming, but You really inspired me and I created a blog. If You could find a minute, that would be a big privilege for me, if You just come and see. Thank You. http://lilianndehn.blogspot.com/
I’m actually REALLY LOVING this little update. It’s normal and so perfectly Pintrested out and like EVERY OTHER KITCHEN out there these days. Good for you on this one and keeping it real. Looks adorable!!
Ha!! Mean’t to type “NOT SO PINTRESTED PERFECT”
I love that small changes can feel so significant. It’s a completely different kitchen. Nice!
…also what if you painted the window frame black…
Hi Sarah! These are exactly like our cabinets (color and small knobs). I was just telling my husband that I would like to paint it all out white. This looks perfect! You have a super fun home project going on here.
I’m enjoying following along!
xx, Heather
http://stylemindchiclife.com
I like it more on white than on the original wood look. It’s nice you keep the traditional touch with this new furniture. Like your kitchen!
I love everything about this new kitchen, great look!
like literal night and day!
i just moved into a rental house over the weekend that needs a LOT of work. especially in the kitchen. i want to paint the cabinets white too. but they’re steel so that should be interesting!
Wow, what a difference! So much lighter and airier! You have me dreaming of a white kitchen even more than I already was now!
hi sarah,
your home is lovely and kitchen turned out great! can you share what color you used on your cabinets?
thank you so much!
be well,
em
This looks amazing!! You nailed it.
http://bysophielee.blogspot.com
The kitchen looks like a new one 😮 wow, such a hard work. With white color, the kitchen look brighter and cleaner :v
this is the online webpage for code.
https://freesteamcode.wordpress.com/
Wow it is unrecognizable! What a change! Gorgeous! *_*
Luna
http://www.fashionsnobber.com
Gorgeous kitchen! Love the white cabinets and gold silverware!
Total worth of money even the old one was good but the new one is super cool. From the drawers to cabinet each one is the testimony of perfection. Gives me a thought that I also need some modification especially the choice of colour.